BAA magazine to continue publishing despite controversy

Members of the Baylor Alumni Association can expect to see the Baylor Line get back on the production horse sometime this spring.

BAA spokeswoman Julie Hillrichs said an official date of publication has not yet been established.

“Preparations for the new publication are well under way,” she said.

The future of the Baylor Line has been uncertain since the termination of licensing agreements between Baylor University and the association on May 31, 2013, prohibiting the BAA from using the “Baylor” name in the title of its association or publication.

A BAA vote that took place on Sept. 7 on Baylor’s campus determined whether the BAA would remain independent from or dissolve into the university. The resulting vote led to the termination of the BAA’s licensing rights.

In a statement released by the BAA in January, BAA president George Cowden III said the association would continue to publish the Baylor Line, although the name of the publication has not yet been changed to eliminate the use of “Baylor.”

A part of BAA tradition since the first publication in October 1946, the magazine is published quarterly, according to the Baylor Line website.

The winter 2014 issue of the Baylor Line was originally scheduled for publication in February. An email sent to BAA members from Cowden confirmed this information.

“We had planned to publish in February as usual, but due to a variety of challenges our publication has been pushed back to this spring,” Cowden wrote.

Hillrichs said the magazine “got a little behind schedule.”

Cowden’s email said BAA officials would “be in touch soon” to inform association members of a chosen publication date.

The magazine will be released in both electronic and paper editions, Cowden wrote in the email.

The Baylor Line exists to keep “alumni and friends of the BAA up to date on issues and things that are going on in the Baylor community,” Hillrichs said.

She said seeing the results of months of preparation and work is rewarding.
“It’s very gratifying for all of us to see the fruits of our labor come to fruition,” she said.